Hi All,
Sunday 04/27/08: It's that time of year. April is when we start
thinking about rolling north. Hopefully, this week's weather will
stay calm during our trek up the East Coast. A southerly tail wind is
forecast for the first two days.
Our first night was at the Elks Lodge in Port St. Lucie, Florida (2
miles away). This Lodge's property is level, grassy and large enough
for half a dozen RVs. Tall shade trees on three sides of the field
offer privacy and coolness. We chose a nearby place to stay the first
night just in case we forgot something in our rush to pack the
Airstream and close up the house for the Summer. We did forget
several items and went back for them.
Nearby is WiFi access at the Jensen Beach Library (1 mile south on US
1) and at the Panera Bread store. WiFi locations are great for email
"flash" sessions. Afterwards in the evening, I read the emails, write
replies and send them in a flash at the next Wi-Fi location.
These 1-2 minutes sessions are far easier than searching for a
friendly phone plug - as I've done in years past. When we win the
lottery, internet satellite service on our cell phone will become the
norm.
In the meantime, lurking on the Yahoo group (http://groups.yahoo.com/
group/InternetByCellPhone) should keep me up to date on the latest
and greatest options.
----------------------------------
Monday 04/28/08: Second night finds us at a Mom & Pop RV Park in the
Passport America (P/A) membership system. In 1992 when P/A was first
offered, we subscribed but found the restrictions, blackout dates and
miscellaneous fees frustrating; plus the prices (even with the 50%
discount) were double and triple what we were routinely paying for
campsites. Result: we cancelled our subscription in 1993.
This year (15 years later), I visited the P/A website and noticed
more parks in the system. After reviewing a dozen P/A Campground
websites, I found the restrictions are still there. But - and this
was key for deciding to give the system another trial; the increased
number of parks without restrictions along the east coast Interstate
I-95 had increased. This year, it might be worth the $50 subscription
for the convenience of easily accessible RV Parks while traveling
I-95; although the price per night is still well above our average
cost per night for a campsite.
Anyhow, we're optimistically hopeful. Tonight, we're at Crystal Lake
RV Park in Scottsmoor, Florida on a full hook up (FHU) campsite ($16)
with excellent non-cable TV reception. The Wi-Fi fee is $5 for 24
hours. No thanks. Finding free Wi-Fi location is easily doable with
very little homework.
Travel distance today was 135 miles. We had a leisurely sunrise
breakfast. Lunch was under a big shade tree followed by a 10 minute
nap. Our tail wind was steady all day. I like my schedule of weight
lifting sessions (six times daily using 85# of Honey). Our Van and
Airstream are rolling along trouble fee. Even the refrigerator stays
cold at 40 degrees regardless of how hot or how cold or how windy it
is on the Interstate. We watched the sunset with an early supper and
relaxed with a spot of television. All in all - a good day.
-------------------------------------
Tuesday 04/29/08: Today's trek was boringly uneventful for the entire
185 miles. We arrived late this afternoon at Golden Isles RV Park in
Brunswick, Georgia and have a FHU campsite ($15) with free Wi-Fi
(very strong signal) and high end cable TV. What a deal.
My notes for the P/A Directory when we stop here again: Sites 5, 8, 9
and 10 have shade in the morning and afternoon (good information when
arriving on a hot muggy day). Site 10 is on a slight rise (great for
a rainy day and not tracking mud inside). The Mom & Pop Campground
Restaurant offers breakfast and lunch. All utility hookups were
standard - no surprises, no adapters needed. The water was sweet so I
refilled our 50 gallon tank. The P/A discount is good for 3 days at a
time.
Price of fuel in Georgia is $3.51 - the lowest we've seen in weeks.
On previous trips through Georgia, fuel has been the cheapest we've
ever found along I-95 between Maine and Florida. Our tires were
checked again to be sure of 60# in each. I'm tenacious about closely
monitoring them to avoid heat build up. Our little red 20 gallon air
tank has 125#s in it for topping off tires when need be.
Tonight's temperatures are supposed to be in the high 40s - the
coldest for us since last Fall in Upstate New York. Our little cube
heater might get some exercise.
------------------------
04/30/08 Wednesday:
For more years than we remember, our first stop in South Carolina has
been Schuman's RV Park (with FHUs) in the village of Canady, SC (I-95
Exit 68) across from Colleton State Park (2.5 miles east on SR 61,
then 1/4 mile on SR 15N). The owner is an enthusiastic and ardent
admirer of Airstreams. He has a special log book and red pen for
signing in Airstream guests.
Arriving at Schuman's is like "old home week" for us and may include
such courtesies as vegetables from his garden or pecans from his
grove or sweet potatoes when he has too many. His campsite discount
for the International Airstream Club members makes him competitive
with campgrounds in the area - with or without the discount listed on
his business card.
This year we decided to try a nearby Passport America RV Park. The
Comfort Inn and RV Park at St. George, SC (I-95 Exit 77) is 10 miles
north of Schuman's Park. The actual campground is behind the Inn in a
tree lined dell with sweet smelling lilac bushes and manicured lawn.
The Inn provides free Wi-Fi accessed from anywhere close to the motel
(including a picnic table outside the building). This is the least
expensive P/A FHU campsite we've experienced so far ($12.50). It is
located in an attractive little oasis surrounded by a high tree lined
hill on two sides.
Reservations are not necessary nor accepted. The clerk told me they
always have vacancies (total of 25 sites). Today there were five RVs
there which looked to be permanents. All sites have narrow but long
concrete pads for RV parking. The sites are close together with
minimal swing room for backing into them (from the driver's blind
side). The rear wheels of our 32' trailer butt against the curbing at
the back of our campsite, thereby allowing the front of our Van to be
off the road by a few inches. Unhooking was not necessary.
There were numerous Springtime ruts in the grass on either side of
all concrete pads. I interpreted this as a testament to most driver's
needing more than one attempt to back onto the pad. By hugging our
trailer's street side wheels to the pad's edge, we gained a foot of
space to walk on the curbside portion of the pad and thereby avoid
stepping out our door onto ruts. This is April and once the ruts are
smoothed and the ground hardens, today's inconvenience will be solved.
The Inn and RV Park are within visual distance from I-95 at the top
of the dell. By nightfall, the echo of rumbling trucks and 70 mph
traffic had diminished from constant to occasional.
Although we can't see the train track at the top of the dell, we know
it is up there by the unmistakable roar and vibration in the ground
(What's the lowest reading on an earthquake scale?). The only times
we heard and felt the high speed trains were at 7 pm, 8 pm, midnight,
3 am and a really long, loud one at 6:40 am (our wake-up call).
This attractive, clean and economical park with attentive courteous
employees is a bargain in many ways. But, we miss the camaraderie and
graciousness of Norm Schuman and his wife. Their quiet Park with tall
oaks and hanging moss has as sense of southern hospitality we like -
a lot. Schuman's will continue to be part of our South Carolina
traveling experience.
Today was my birthday and I chose to celebrate it by cooking supper
for Sandie. Her birthday present to me was to encourage my cooking
skills, to tell me she enjoyed eating what I prepared, to smile at my
lame jokes, to joyfully lick her lips while eating a piece of
Peppermint Ice Cream pie from McDonald's and to sing Happy Birthday
to me while I blew out the flame on our one Citronella candle.
That was a real birthday present from my Honey,
Terry